There is a great need for cost-effective, easy to use systems, methods, and devices for analyzing biological samples. Many commercially available systems cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars and have many moving parts which make them prone to failure. Because of the cost and complexity of such systems, their use has generally been limited to clinical laboratories which have the personnel and services needed to support their operation and maintenance.
One class of fully integrated automated analyzers, represented by the Abbott Architect, Siemens Centaur, Roche Elecsys, and others, perform immunoassays. Another class of modular analyzers, represented by the Abbott m2000, Roche COBAS, bioMérieux NucliSENS and others, perform nucleic acid assays. Much of the complexity of these systems is a result of separation steps involved in processing the assays.
Modular systems are also frequently used in research laboratories. Immunoassay separations may be performed by plate washers such as Titertek MAP-C2, BioTek ELx50, Tecan PW 96/384 and others. Nucleic acid separations are performed by systems such as the Applied Biosystems PRISM™ 6100, Invitrogen iPrep, Thermo Scientific KingFisher, Promega Maxwell, and others.
The availability of low-cost, reliable analyzers is of particular concern as it relates to the diagnosis and management of disease around the world. This problem is vividly illustrated by the problems associated with management of HIV infections. Many technologies exist that permit detection of nucleic acids or protein levels associated with HIV. This detection is important for managing the patient care of those infected by HIV. However, the cost and complexity of these systems prohibits their widespread use.